Bill Bavasi Good Quotations

He's got the chance to end up being a real good center fielder. He needs work on balls over his head, but what new outfielder doesn't? He's got a plus arm, he's a bright kid and he's got a good approach.

He's going to provide good offense for us out of that slot.

There are so few real good left-handed or switch-hitters that can operate in the middle of a lineup and be as consistent as Raul. We're thrilled.

We felt good about his season and we feel good about him as a person. The one voice you hear in there now is his. It would be nice if we could clone his approach and give it to other guys. So that was important to us.

A lot of good hitters became good hitters when they were with him.

It's a good deal for both sides. Willie has a chance to help us in a lot of different positions, starting and coming off the bench. He got quite a bit of security for a guy that hasn't necessarily completely established himself as an everyday player.

It was not an optimum year for it. The free-agent pool was not deep where we needed it. But it was good at the very top and we do feel we siphoned off some of that when we signed Jarrod.

Nothing is official yet. We feel good that common sense will prevail.

He's looking good on the side. I think for most everybody here, the issue is keeping him healthy and getting him a chance to show what he can do.